Though it was still difficult, Leo did his best in answering the witch. He quoted to his friends what the magical being from his dream had told him. Then finally, the sorcerer talked of seeing the man in torn clothing walk by them as well. But Kazu and Celine looked at him as if what he was talking about wasn’t there at all.

“Leo, we didn’t see a man in torn clothes,” expressed his cousin.

“Well, it had to be my gift,” he speculated. “Nobody else saw him, so that would mean I did… right?”

Kazu and Celine appeared as doubtful as ever to agree with Leo. Yet, knowing they were all magic wielders, they knew better not to question magic. But the wait on a response was beginning to frustrate the young sorcerer. Sighing, he brushed a hand through his hair, and headed off down the road on his own. But Celine caught up to stop him with a comforting hand placed on Leo’s shoulder.

“Leo let’s focus on going to the library,” She suggested. “Whatever we find, it’ll tell us more about your gift.”

“…I guess you’re right,” he agreed sadly.

“Wait, hold on!” Ordered Kazu, coming up to them. “Where’s Tom?”

The trio looked around to see if Tom was anywhere close by. But there were too many people in the way for either of the magic wielders to spot him. When it proved he was nowhere in sight, the sorcerer realized what it could possibly mean…

“Oh, damn it!” Swore Leo. “He must’ve gone ahead without us.”

“Great,” Kazu muttered dryly. “Should we just ask for directions?”

“Maybe,” supposed Celine. “Or…”

Instead of finishing her thought, the witch smiled and extended both her hands. Leo and Kazu had no clue on what she had in mind, but they figured it couldn’t be any good. That’s when the Kagemusha finally understood and was against it already.

“You can’t be serious, Celine,” he opposed.

“The book said teleportation also works when thinking of a person,” informed the witch, referring to her spell book.

Kazu didn’t give her a response because she made a good point. So, he turned the decision over to Leo, who only gave his cousin a shrug on the subject. He walked to over Celine, leaving the Kagemusha outvoted and standing by himself.

“Okay, fine!” Scuffed Kazu, then quickly proposed, “BUT! We have Leo teleport us there instead.”

“No fair!” Celine angrily shrieked. “We always rely on Leo’s and your magic! Why can’t I do it?”

“Because Leo can do it with other people beside him,” he explained, then quipped, “Also, your spell casting is really slow.”

Leo snickered at his cousin’s remark, leaving the witch to blush furiously. The humor became brief when he noticed Celine channeling her magic from her hands. It left him worried because there were several people in the area walking by them. And the last thing the sorcerer wanted was to get anyone hurt from his friends fighting. Before she could throw a blast at Kazu, Leo quickly grabbed hold of Celine’s wrists.

“On second thought, let’s not teleport,” he insisted. “Let’s just walk down the rest of this road and find the library, all right?”

The witch gave Kazu one last dirty look, then angrily pulled her arms free. Leo turned to his cousin, who merely gave him a shrug, stayed silent during the walk. Their search for Tom and the library was only leading them further down the street. It was difficult though, especially when the magic wielders came at an unforeseen dilemma. A curved intersection running through one side of the road to the other.

“Three different paths,” Celine stated. “Which one should we take?”

“Aesha only said that the library was west of town,” recalled Leo. “So, let’s keep heading forward until we see it.”

With no objections, the magic wielders continued onward down the road. But as they progressed on, they noticed something was different about the townsfolk. Almost half of the young men and women were dressed in decorative white robes and hats. And they all seemed to come from the same direction opposite of Leo and his friends.

“Uh, do you guys notice something… strange?” Asked awkwardly Kazu.

“You mean, how the people are dressed the same?” Leo questioned rhetorically. “They look like one of the statues in the center of town earlier.”

“Maybe that’s what they are,” proclaimed Celine. “And if their scholars, then that should mean…”

She walked on ahead down the road before finishing her thought. Leo and Kazu followed close behind, carefully passing by several scholars along the way. Celine looked hastily from left to right, hoping that her brother was somewhere in sight. The crowd of people became thicker, however, blocking view of the road ahead of them. But then, the witch came to a stop when the sound of a low-pitched ringing caught her ear. She looked to the sky and spotted a large gold bell swinging at the top of a tall tower.

“That must be the church!” Celine presumed. “Maybe we’ll get to the library if we cut through this alley.”

“Wait, Celine!” Shouted Leo.

She didn’t listen as she ran on ahead without giving it any thought. Leo groaned before running after the witch, leaving Kazu no choice but to follow his cousin. The alley itself, though appeared to be empty, seemed very questionable to say the least. It looked to be a somewhat tight fit for either of the boys to simply walk right through. They both had to turn to their sides in order for them to enter.

“I can’t believe we’re following her down this tiny alley,” complained Kazu.

“I don’t believe it either,” Leo plainly concurred. “But we can’t have Celine running around Stone Cross on her own.”

“That’s true,” agreed his cousin, then jested, “Especially not with her temper near all those scholars.”

Both boys laughed as they continued on down the small path. Leo saw that Celine was up ahead, but she seemed too far along for him to stop her. So, he and Kazu picked up the pace, pushing themselves through the constricted tunnel. Surprisingly, it was taking much longer to reach the end than the sorcerer had hoped.

“Hey!” Celine yelled to the boys. “I think we’re almost to the exit!” 

Leo looked over and saw a large spacing between both building walls. They finally reached the end of the alley, exiting out of there one person at a time. The sorcerer and his friends began taking in the change of scenery that was before them. More scholars of all ages, young children included, were outside dressed in white robes.

“Ugh! We’re finally here!” Kazu groaned in relief. “I almost thought we’d wind up getting stuck in that alley.”

“There you guys are!”

A familiar voice from afar caught the attention of all three magic wielders. They turned to find Tom in the crowd running toward them.

“Tom!” Celine eagerly called.

“I was worried you three might’ve gotten lost,” he speculated. “Come on, a friend of mine’s waiting in the library.” 

End of Chapter six.